Saturday, January 18, 2014

Why Payton?

A reader writes with his best guess as to why Bruce Rauner's daughter wanted to go to Chicago's Walter Payton College Prep instead of New Trier High School in Winnetka, since both are top-notch schools:

It's possible that Rauner's daughter wanted to enter Payton rather than New Trier because she thought it would improve her chance to get into a specific university.

My son graduated from New Trier and loved it. One thing his college counselor there told us was that the most popular colleges/universities, particularly the Ivies such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale, have a quota system.

They won't call it a quota system, of course, but their policy is to accept only a certain number of kids each year from specific high-academic high schools such as New Trier. As I recall, the number was something like 5 or 6. If one of the universities accepted 7 one year, it would be only 4 the year after, etc.

In any given year, there could be 20 New Trier kids who applied to Harvard, all of whom would fit in and do well there, but in order to keep a mix of students, the University would accept only 5 or 6.

Maybe Rauner figured he couldn't beat the odds through New Trier, and decided his daughter's chances of getting into the university she wanted would be better if she applied from a Chicago high school.

It's possible. Also possible that the Rauners liked the diversity in Payton's student population, the additional extra-curricular opportunities afforded students at smaller schools (sports, drama, music and so on).

Posted at 02:13:30 PM

Comments

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Please. Bash Rauner all you can. Run him out of town. Better you than his competition. Thanks.

First, we don't know if the daughter chose Walter Payton, likely her parents made the decision for her. Second, I believe daddy had the ability (and money) to get her into whatever college they chose, Payton's a good example of that. I doubt the above reason was relevant. Third, say this reason was valid; is it right to ruin another student's future college prospects by bumping him or her off the list?

Interesting that the brainy and well connected get public schools of such quality that a wealthy man wants to clout his kid into one, while the less brainy and less connected get their pick of charters and sloppy-seconds public schools.

This is a shaky theory. Yes, the Ivies and the top 30 elites have a quota for the likes of New Trier, but even if she goes to Payton they will still basically lump her into the same group of wealthy white kids. And Dad probably figured she would get into a decent school either way. I doubt the slight edge she might get from going to Payton would govern this decision.

The problem is that Rauner used his clout to benefit his family to the harm of another whose child lost that spot at Payton. It's typical one-percenter behavior and he doesn't even understand why what he did was wrong. I would love to have a decent alternative to Quinn to vote for in the election. However, it sure isn't going to be Rauner.

Old news about top colleges limiting the # of kids from top high schools like new trier, Deerfield, Stevenson, etc. the column above makes it sound like breaking news. Why shouldn't a parent consider private high schools to give high aspirational teens broader options for college?

The point is, Walter Payton is a Chicago Public School, NOT a private school. Clouting his daughter into Payton deprives another CPS student from a shot at Payton. Nothing is wrong with Rauner wanting the best for his daughter, she could have gone to Loyola academy (priivate), Lake Forest Academy (private), the Latin School (private), or any other number of private schools.

Every kid who qualifies academically for Payton should be able to attend that school or another of equivalent quality. The fact that there aren't enough Paytons is the real issue. How much more money does CPS spend on Payton relative to a regular neighborhood school?

No, the real issue is that Chicago kids have to go to a school like Payton in order to be at a school that the governing body of the schools - CPS, the school board, Emanuel, etc. - actually gives a sh-- about. Every CPS high school should have a Payton-like program for honors students, as well as vocational programs for those interested, and electives and extracurriculars for everyone. If my po-dunk high school in nowhere, Indiana could manage it, there's no reason the average 1,000+ student high school in Chicago couldn't manage it. But when the mayor of the city believes that "only 25% of those kids will amount to anything anyway", then you get disinvestment in schools, unfunded mandates, obscene amounts of testing and test prep, and a washout of all curriculum except math and reading.

I KNOW that if some out-of-district person wanted to send their kids to the local HS, they would get the door shut so hard, so fast, in their face, that they'd be blasted back on their butts from the concussive force of the door slam.

How can some suburbanite even THINK his kids could go to a Chicago school? If a parent from 87th and Commercial wanted to enroll their child at New Trier, you think they would stand any kind of chance?

I've seen other comments at another site by someone who uses a similar online description. If you are that same person, then you make a lot of sense in what you say. No reply is requested or needed for my observation since I understand why people protect their privacy.

"This is a shaky theory. Yes, the Ivies and the top 30 elites have a quota for the likes of New Trier, but even if she goes to Payton they will still basically lump her into the same group of wealthy white kids."

Definitely agree. No way she was getting a meaningful admissions bump from WP v NT; still the daughter of two billionaire Dartmouth grads.

"the real issue is that Chicago kids have to go to a school like Payton in order to be at a school that the governing body of the schools ... actually gives a sh-- about"

Mild hyperbole, but only mild.

" If a parent from 87th and Commercial wanted to enroll their child at New Trier, you think they would stand any kind of chance?"

If they bought a $2mm condo in the New Trier attendance area (the reverse of Brucey's move), then of course.

I will reiterate my general objection to non-city residents even taking the admissions test, but that's another story. For comparison, the NYC requirement is: " Students must be residents of New York City and current eighth grade or first-time ninth grade students in order to apply, register, sit for, and receive results for the Specialized High Schools Admissions test.", so, under those rules, she wouldn't have been permitted to apply.

"This is a shaky theory. Yes, the Ivies and the top 30 elites have a quota for the likes of New Trier, but even if she goes to Payton they will still basically lump her into the same group of wealthy white kids."

Definitely agree. No way she was getting a meaningful admissions bump from WP v NT; still the daughter of two billionaire Dartmouth grads.

"the real issue is that Chicago kids have to go to a school like Payton in order to be at a school that the governing body of the schools ... actually gives a sh-- about"

Mild hyperbole, but only mild.

" If a parent from 87th and Commercial wanted to enroll their child at New Trier, you think they would stand any kind of chance?"

If they bought a $2mm condo in the New Trier attendance area (the reverse of Brucey's move), then of course.

I will reiterate my general objection to non-city residents even taking the admissions test, but that's another story. For comparison, the NYC requirement is: " Students must be residents of New York City and current eighth grade or first-time ninth grade students in order to apply, register, sit for, and receive results for the Specialized High Schools Admissions test.", so, under those rules, she wouldn't have been permitted to apply.

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